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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. lean — to bend
  3. club — for dancing
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. spring — of water
  8. club — for golf
  9. lean — thin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. club — a group
  12. perch — the fish
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com